Strikeforce GP: Ranking the Submissions of All 6 Fighters Left in the Tourney

On Saturday, June18, Strikeforce will continue its Heavyweight Grand Prix live from Dallas, TX.

Pride veteran Sergei Kharitonov and Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva have already advanced to the next round.

Tomorrow night we will find out who their opponents will be.

Top grappler Josh Barnett will take on Chicago slugger Brett Rodgers . The main event of the night will feature a rematch between Brazilian jiu-jitsu expert Fabricio Werdum and Strikeforce heavyweight champ Alistair Overeem.

The first two fights of the tournament ended early thanks to hard striking by Silva and Kharitonov. Tomorrow's fights may end differently as many of the fighters are known for their submissions just as much as their knockouts.

Here is a ranking of who has the best submission game in the tournament. 

No. 6: Bret Rogers

Rogers is known for being aggressive and knocking guys out.

Out of his 11 wins, 10 are by knockout.

That being said, his submission game is not on par with the rest of the group.

Until we see Rogers improve in other areas of MMA, he will be known as a brawler. 

No. 5: Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva

Despite being a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Silva only has three wins by submission. 

Silva is a huge heavyweight and usually uses his powerful striking to take guys out.

Silva’s most recent win was against MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko. After hitting Fedor with some hard ground and pound in the second round, doctors stopped the fight because of the damage done to Fedor’s eye.

While he may have a great submission game, Silva uses what works best for him: overpowering size and heavy strikes. 

No. 4: Sergei Kharitonov

Kharitonov almost has just as many submissions as he does KO wins.

He is a tough competitor who actually holds wins over Fabricio Werdum and Alistair Overeem.

The reason he gets the fourth spot is because some of his most famous wins are actually by KO. Also the guys ahead of him are known more for their submissions.

No. 3: Alistair Overeem

Strikeforce heavyweight champion Overeem has 19 submission victories to his name.

Overeem has stopped many guys with his guillotine choke, including former UFC champ Vitor Belfort.

Some may know Overeem more for his striking ability, but he has dangerous submissions as well. 

No. 2: Josh Barnett

Barnett‘s catch wrestling style of fighting has earned him 17 submission victories.

Barnett is also a BJJ black belt who has won grappling competitions outside of MMA.

Although he has some good submissions, many have not been against top competition.

Fabricio Werdum

Although he does not have as many submission wins as some of the other fighters on the list, his percentage of wins by submissions are close if not higher than other tournament fighters.

Werdum is a second-degree black belt in BJJ and has won many tournaments in the sport.

Werdum ranks No. 1, because of his skill and the caliber of guys he has made tapped. They include Overeem, Hidehiko Yoshida and Fedor Emelianenko.